Slip-cutter for index purposes



(No Model.) 7

A. J. RUDOLPH. SLIP CUTTER FOR INDEX PURPOSES.

No. 516,119. Patented Mar. 6, 1894.

wumnarnn. o. Q.

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

SLIP-CUTTER FOR INDEX PURPOSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,1 19, dated March.6, 1894.

Application filed April 20, 1893- Eerial No. 471,216. (No model.)

To all whom it" may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER J OSEPE RUDOLPH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State ofCalifornia, have invented an Improvement in Slip-GuttersforIndexPurposes and I hereby declare the following to be afull, clear,and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a device for cutting slips for index and librarypurposes.

It consists in certain details of construction which will be more fullyexplained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lis a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective of aportion of the front showing the two cutting blades. Fig. 3 is avertical section of a portion of the front part of the device.

The object of my present invention is to facilitate the cutting ofentries from printed works for insertion in the leaf-holders of indexand file devices. In making up these leaf or slip-holders I utilizecatalogues, journals, and other works which have already been printed,by cutting out the lines which I wish to employin my index. Some ofthese journals are printed with nonpareil type with verynarrow spacingbetween, and the object of my invention is to provide an apparatus bywhich a neat separation may be made between single nonpareil lines whenthe spacing between the lines is less than the sixtyfourth of an inch.Each single line portion forms an independent entry, and must be exactlyout without injuring the next following line, and no more margin must beleft on each single line than is necessary. Another important point isthat the slips on which the matter to beindexed or catalogued in writtenor printed matter pasted on cardboard, must be out at perfect rightangles in order that each slip will fit exactly to the others, or to anyother, and when the slips are introduced upon a leaf-holder they mustfit so that all,

the slips together have the appearance of a solid page. To illustratethe importance of perfectly cutting these slips and economizing all thespace, Iwill state thatin the San Francisco Free Public Library, thereare about six thousand five hundred leaf-holders filled up with littleslips, forming the catalogue to the library. Each leaf-holder containson an average forty-five entries, on each entry an unnecessary margin ofone thirty-second of an inch on the top and one thirty-second on thebottom, amounts to a little less than three inches of space on eachleaf-holder. The total waste of space in the six thousand five hundredleaf-holders would amount to about nineteen thousand five hundredinches, and as the length of each leaf-holder is sixteen inches, itwould necessitate the expense of about twelve hundred additionalleaf-holders,which is important on account of the cost of theleaf-holders and of the additional space necessary for the index, andthe additional time necessary to go over these additional leafholders.To obviate these difficulties, 1 have made an improved cutting machinewhich will make a saving of unnecessary margin and cut the slips exactlyat right angles without causing the very narrow slips to curl up as theydo when out with scissors.

The device consists of two steel plates A and B which meet as closely aspossible with out creating undue friction. One of these plates A isfixed to a raised platform 0 upon which the paper or cardboard to be cutis laid. The other steel plate B is fastened to a fulcrunied lever Dwhich is so pivoted that by means of its handle E, it may be raised anddepressed, and cause the plate B to pass the plate A with a shearingmotion so as to. out anything which is introduced between them. I havefound a very satisfactory construction is to make the plate A with itsupper edge made with a square right angle corner. The plate 13 has itslower edgemade with a slight bevel so as to pass the square corner ofthe lower plate with a shearing mo tion. It will be manifest that thesame results may be produced by varying the form of the cutter and themovable blade, or, if desired, be so constructed as to move in Verticalguides, the edge being inclined so as to pass the stationary blade inthe manner that I have described when it is attached to a fulcrum lever.The blade is very easily sharpened by grinding the bevel edge downaverylittle so as to form a new sharp angle.

In order to prevent any looseness of the handle and any side movement,which would prevent the cutting edges acting together properly, thepivot pin of the handle is made long, and the handle,itself,is fittedupon the pin with a long bearing. A nut and washer serve to hold the pinin place in its standard or support, and a shoulder is made between thescrew-threaded portion and the part which passes through the handle, sothat the nut screws up snugly against this shouldenand at the same timeabuts closely against the handle so as to prevent side play. The cuttingplate is secured upon the side of the handle by means of screws, and inorder to adjust it with relation to the stationary plate, I have shownscrews F passing through the opposite side of the handle and abuttingagainst this plate, so that by a slight uni form turn of these screws,the edge of the plate may be thrown out a little and a perfoot fitbetween the edges effected. Upon one end of the support is a littleprojection G havingv a rubber or other soft pad fitted into it to serveas a stop against which the handle of the cutter strikes to preventnoise.

.Upon the raised platform which serves to support the card or sheet tobe out, are two bars H, either one of which serves as a guide againstwhich the side of the slip is placed when it is to be advanced beneaththe out ter. Either of the bars H which may serve as the guide, may bemade adjustable by having one end pivoted and the other formed with atransverse slot through which passes ,a-set screw I. This set screwbeingloosened,

this end of the bar may be moved a little to one side or the other, andthe set screw then turned on to clamp it in place. The object of thisadjustment is to accommodate the guide to printed material which may bemounted upon card-board not exactly at right angles with the edge whichis to be out. By moving this: bar to one side or the other, the line ofprinted matter will be broughtin exact parallelism with the cuttingedge, and the cutting will thus be properly done.

Across the end of the raised platform, and adjacent to the cutters, isfixed a glass plate J which is kept in position by two pins K passingthrough holes in the plate. These pins have heads which rest upon thetop of the plate, and the lower ends pass sufficiently through theplatform upon which the glass rests to allow spiral springs L tosurround them, the tension of the springs being adjusted by nuts Mfitting upon the lower ends of the pins. These springs serve to draw theglass plate down upon the platform with any desired tension. The plateis beveled upon opposite edges so that the plate is in the form of anacuteangle rhomboid in transverse section. In the present case I haveshown the edge adjacent to the cutter made flat, and thinner than themain portion of the plate to which it connects byan offset. This insuresclearness and prevents refraction.

Oneof the beveled sides lies next the platform fore stated, in order toallowa clear inspection of the lines of the slip which is to be out.These lines can be seen-equally well through the glass, and where they,project outside of it beneath the cutter, so that an exact division ofthe space may be made, and the .cut made exactly between the lines ofthe type without cutting into either line.

Having thus described myinventiomwhat I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A slip cutter for index catalogue purposes, consisting of a tablehaving one blade I of a cutter fixed at right angles with one end.

of the table, a second blade adjustably fixed to a vertically movablecarrier so as to pass the bars H extending longitudinally :along bothsides of the table, one of said bars forming a guide one end of which ismounted upon a pin passing through the table While the opposite end isslotted transversely and engaged by a set screw whereby said slotted endis adj ustably secured, substantially as herein described.

2. A slip cutter for index andcatalogue purposes, comprising a table tosupport the sheet to be cut, opposing blades one of-which is fixed andthe other movable, a transparent plate extending transversely across thetable and adapted to allow the sheet to be cutto pass beneath it as itapproaches theblades, pins passing through the ends of said plate forsecuring it to the table, springs on said pins below the table forholding the plate under yielding pressure, and the bars H along thesides of the table, one of said bars having one end pivotally securedupon one of the pins and the opposite end slotted transversely andadjustably secured, substantially asand for the purpose described.

3. A slip cutter for index and catalogue purposes comprising an elevatedtable, the supports therefor having a projection with apad or cushion,the fixed and movable-blades or cutters, a transparent plateextendingacross the table and having its opposite. edges beveled, the pins Kpassing through the ends of the plate and through the table, springs onsaid pins below the table and nuts on the pins for regulating thetension of the springs, the

.the first blade with a shearing motion, and

IIO

bars extending along the outer sides of the In witness whereof I havehereunto set my tinble and serving as a guide for the card or hand. sip, one of said bars having one end pivotally mounted upon one of thepins K and ALEXMDER JOSEPH RUDOLPH 5 having its opposite ends slottedtransversely, Witnesses:

and a set screw for adjustably securing said S. H. NOURSE, slatted end,substantially as herein described. J. A. BAYLESS.

